container
Americannoun
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an object used for or capable of holding, esp for transport or storage, such as a carton, box, etc
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a large cargo-carrying standard-sized container that can be loaded from one mode of transport to another
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( as modifier )
a container port
a container ship
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Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of container
1400–50 for an earlier sense; 1495–1505 container for def. 1; late Middle English conteiner; see contain, -er 1
Explanation
A container holds things inside it. Bags, boxes, buckets, and pockets are all containers. The purpose of a container is to carry, hold, or store something. You might buy nuts at the grocery store, then bring them home and put them in a container, or you could put your leftover pasta in an airtight container and store it in the refrigerator for tomorrow's lunch. The thing all containers have in common is that they contain, or hold, things. Both words are rooted in the Latin continere, "to hold together or enclose."
Vocabulary lists containing container
"Earth and Space"
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"Introduction to Homeland Security," Vocabulary from Chapter 6
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Cool and store: Let the syrup cool, then transfer it to a jar with a lid or a deli container.
From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026
Carriers fit two to four vehicles inside a container, which is lifted by crane onto a ship.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
Some of these attacks have resulted in marine pollution, including the sinking of container ship Safeen Prestige on 4 March following an attack near Oman.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
According to an anonymous US official who spoke to the Post, Trump boarded an Air Force One jet in Ankara on July 8, but then moved into a catering container attached to the plane.
From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026
Mom hands her a plastic container with two eggs snug inside so they don’t break.
From "Muffled" by Jennifer Gennari
Firing up machines in their own homes or at local libraries and maker spaces, they are printing door locks, furniture hinges, storage containers and appliance parts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
But he then reportedly quickly left the plane, stepping inside one of the cargo containers, to board a smaller US Air Force aircraft positioned nearby.
From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026
Call it social justice or activism or whatever, those are just containers for the actual daily work that we do to survive and thrive.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
The ostrich eggshells were probably used as containers for carrying or storing water.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 9, 2026
I was sitting in the passenger seat, two glass containers on my lap.
From "Bye Forever, I Guess" by Jodi Meadows
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
